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Heineken makes great commercials, unfortunately, they also make beer ...

As one who is currently on their third Lagunitas Undercover Shut-down Investigation, I can only say that I'm most likely going to need more of them in extra-time. The Derby/Atleti combo today has, to now, confirmed my suspicions that sports is 100% about dealing with losing.

Yeah I don't understand that about soccer. I've been watching and playing all my life, and I can't tell you how many times I've seen the refs and linesmen still call balls that are clearly only on the line, out of bounds. There is definitely a bias towards ruling them out of bounds, not sure why.

I go back to that 90th minute free kick on the edge of the box Atleti had. The shot was handled easily by Casillas and the pressure was on again. I really would have liked them to go to the corner with it and get some respite.

See you all in a few weeks. I'm taking a break until the WC madness descends. Go Ghana (well, go whoever is playing the USMNT).

Is there a better sign that the US has evolved into a real football nation than having fans so disgusted by their national team that they actively root for them to lose? Every great football nation has those.

Still, the amazingness is going to stick with me longer than being bummed about the result. Truly impressive performance by Atletico, dogged work by Real, some wonderful skill on display. And the final 30-40 minutes of agonized players with bursting lungs giving every single ounce of energy was incredible to watch.

Something I saw mentioned elsewhere which hadn't occurred to me but rings very true: that was a fantastic refereeing job by Kuipers.

I assume he was the referee today? It says a lot that I didn't catch the name. Other than Ronaldo screaming for the handball nothing too contentious and I think he generally did a good job of letting Atleti tactically foul without making a mockery of things. I.E. the anti-Howard Webb.

A few hours to "calm" down now and relish in agreement with the comments above. Great game and almost. Kuipers did do a good job, although Atletico wasn't quite as chippy as in the league/Copa. Maybe that's another sign that he did a good job.

I thought Atletico were better yesterday, at least for the first 90. Barca did score two goals that night, hit a couple of posts and Messi missed a penalty. Real did not really generate a lot of chances other throughout the match and I thought Atleti did a terrific job of getting back and stopping Real's transition game. In fairness Chelsea were down to ten men for close to an hour so there is a case for them but I just thought Atletico were excellent and Chelsea were frankly a bit lucky.

Donovan sure didn't look out of shape or out of form tonight, in case there was any question about whether the decision was personal. But at least Team USA has Brad Davis and Julian Green to save the day and Davis is a young 32 years old unlike old man Donovan.

I don't like the idea of taking a guy simply because he has a history. But as long as Donovan has a reasonable case as being in the best 23 guys, he should be there. I've never been his biggest fan, but if we're down 0-1 to Germany in the 80th minute and we need a point to get through, I want Landon out there.

How can there be any question that it was personal after the tweet from Klinsmann's son? The case was pretty close to open-and-shut just based on what we know about Donovan and what we know about several of the players taken in front of him, but the tweet really seals it for me.

I'm finding it very hard to imagine enthusiastically rooting for the team this summer. I'm sure I'll come around, but man, its tough right now.

“I asked Jurgen for an explanation,” Goodson said. “It was something that he was unwilling to give me. He said that he would speak with me after the World Cup about it, and I said that I thought I certainly deserved an explanation. And it was something that he was unwilling to give.”

Goodson allowed that Klinsmann could have already had his 23-man roster in mind before the USMNT training camp convened at Stanford on May 14.

“It’s certainly possible,” Goodson said. “We trained in two groups. There were some guys I never really saw. I was one of the best in the things that I did, I felt. I was winning games and did a good job. If you’re basing it just upon the camp, I certainly think that I was deserving to go. And even outside of the camp, the things I’ve done in the past would have earned me a spot.”

That sucks that Klinsmann wouldn't give Goodson an explanation, even it's something simple like "Cameron is faster than you are" or "Gonzalez is better in the air" or whatever. Still, Goodson was always on the bubble in my view, so I can understand that call. Donovan's a completely different story.

So it's clear a few folks have axes to grind with Klinsmann, justifiable or not. But we don't really know the whole story and I doubt we'll find out the truth through press interviews with Donovan, Goodson, or Klinsmann. So I'm hesitant to lump this all on Klinsmann.

I go back to that 2013 SI article after the US got off to a poor start in qualification. Just a nasty, borderline-xenophobic article claiming the German-Americans on the team were ruining "team chemistry" and bullshit like that. So I'm not sure if all those questioning Klinsmann's methods are doing it for legitimate, or if they're just upset he's brought in some new guys.

Then the US won the Gold Cup and placed first in CONCACAF qualification. So for the time being I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. Personally, I think Klinsmann should've just swallowed his pride and gave Donovan a roster spot. That snubs sucks. But are we really upset Clarence Goodson didn't make the roster?

Yeah, the snub of Donovan is the thing that bothers me, it strikes me as a power play. If Klinsmann feels like he still doesn't have full respect from the team a month before the World Cup, that's a very bad thing. If Klinsmann is just being a jackass, that's also a bad thing, but not as worrisome. But it's clearly not because Donovan didn't deserve to make the team. The US has done well enough over the last couple years that I'm happy to give Klinsmann the benefit of the doubt, he's earned it, but I'm still sad that Donovan isn't going to Brazil.

I think part of the issue here is why it is often tough for great players to become great managers. Someone with more knowledge of Klinsmann's playing career can correct me but a late-prime elite player taking time off to tour Cambodia like Donovan did last year has to be perplexing to Klinsmann.

So does anyone know what Turkish players I should be looking forward to watching for Sunday's friendly? I'd imagine Sahin and Turan probably won't get called up because of injuries, so I guess Yilmaz... and?

Klinsmann's like a BigSoccer poster who's never forgiven Landycakes for pussying out of the Bundesliga. I go either way on it. He's still clearly one of the 23 best American players, but he's never been the player he could be due to his unwillingness to test himself. I can see how Klinsmann, who excelled in the club game in Germany, Italy and England, doesn't respect that.

Klinsmann's like a BigSoccer poster who's never forgiven Landycakes for pussying out of the Bundesliga.

Grant Wahl pretty much says the same thing, that Klinsmann's still pissed at him for being one of the reasons Klinsmann would up laying out the blueprint for David Moyes on how to miss every expectation and be fired before the end of the season and be replaced by Louis van Gaal.

(I'm not buying it but ...) Klinsmann could have a legitimate problem with Donovan in that he sees him as a Samir Nasri type player that if he isn't starting is going to perhaps more trouble than he's worth. If that were Klinsmann's thinking, it is not the type of thing you mention to the public. Klinsmann would also have some first hand experience with how Donovan adjusts to coming off the bench going back to the Bayern Munich days.

I'm very positive about this appointment from a Spurs perspective, though it will be interesting to see what his approach is to the current squad. A major clear out (particularly of players who were injured this season) would be a black mark in my book.

I think this is just lazy journalism, but a QPR defense "anchored" (literally) by Rio Ferdinand and Michael Dawson would be entertaining.